Music: Circle of Fate: Back to Life

Our Take

Chicago hard rock band Circle of Fate has been around for about ten years or so now and have been making a name for themselves around the region. Since 2001 the group has put out albums on a fairly regular basis, and with their fourth full length Back to Life they are looking to gain more exposure nationwide. And thanks to their great hooks and melodic female vocalist, they may just find the big break that they are looking for.

The instrumentalists of Circle of Fate seem to be pulling from a variety of different influences, though all of them are based within the rock genre. For the majority of the album the band makes use of familiar hard rock riffs that bring to mind groups such as Flotsam and Jetsam and even Alice in Chains at times. But the instrumentalists don’t stop there, as there are also tracks that have a more gothic rock feel to them (though as you might expect this group doesn’t use keyboards at all), and there are also some moments that have much more melodic guitar work and approach the world of alternative rock. This gives Back to Life quite a deal of variety but as they all have a similar base all of the material feels connected. I would like to see the group branch out even more in the future as they seem to have the potential to explore even more than they have here, but overall the hooks on this disc make it one of the more memorable hard rock albums in recent memory.

As I mentioned earlier, Circle of Fate’s music revolves around melodic female vocals, and their singer Michele has a great voice that is able to hit a decent level of pitches. Her standard pitch is fairly mid range, but at times she is able to extend it almost a whole octave higher and offer listeners some great melodies. The group also appears to have used some production tricks on some of the songs, as there are times when Michele loops her vocals to create an echo effect or create harmonies. She also has a ton of energy throughout Back to Life and despite the fact that her singing style is fairly clean and melodic there are quite a few moments where the vocals are in your face and holding your attention. And considering that the mainstream hard rock world is currently filled with bands that have male leads with similar pitches, it seems likely that Circle of Fate could stand out if given the right amount of exposure.

Back to Life is an album that has plenty to like, and will hopefully get Circle of Fate the attention that they deserve. There is still more room for the band to branch out and try new things, but what they offer on this disc is still very catchy and has some surprises for listeners who may go in expecting every track to sound the same. If you like hard rock and are getting sick of the fact that all of the current commercial names sound similar to one another, consider turning your attention to the underground/independent circuit and giving this band your support.

http://www.circleoffate.net

Chris Dahlberg
July 27, 2009